The Isa Musthapha Agwai 1 Polytechnic, Lafia Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has alleged that the embezzlement of Tertiary Education Trust Fund monies by the former management of the institution prevented it from accessing further support.
Comrade Sylvester Aku, Chairman of the union, who stated this while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Lafia, stressed that the activities of the former management denied the institution further access to TETfund grants, thereby preventing rapid infrastructural and human capital development in the institution.
Aku said: “Some of our colleagues, who have gone for further studies under TETfund sponsorship, are currently stranded in the United Kingdom and other places due to lack of funds.
“TETfund has also placed an embargo on sponsoring further projects in the institution due to the embezzlement of monies for projects in the past.”
Aku used the medium to commend the state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, for his efforts towards the upliftment of the institution, especially by appointing the management of the institution recently, based on merit, for the first time since the institution was established in 2000.
He also lauded Sule for fencing the polytechnic and his prompt visit to the institution to assess the level of damage after the March 11 students’ unrest.
The union Chairman, however, called on the governor to ensure full implementation of the White Paper of a committee that investigated the activities of the former management of the institution.
He said only the full implementation of the White Paper would enable the institution access TETfund’s support again.
Aku equally urged Sule to implement the four years outstanding promotion of their members to avoid industrial action, in addition to employing more academic staff to address manpower shortages in all departments due to lack of employment for over 10 years.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state government, during the administration of the immediate past governor, constituted a panel to investigate the activities of the former management of the institution.
The report had since January 2019 been submitted.
